“How Sex is like Reading”
Or: “The Column I’d like to
Submit but Won’t”
Tammy Marshall
Sex can be compared to many things,
but for shits ‘n giggles, let’s compare it to my second favorite bedtime
activity, reading, because a lot of good stuff happens between both types of
covers.
Reading skills, like sexual ones,
get better with age and with practice. When you’re young, your reading tastes
haven’t fully developed, and you spend a lot of time trying out different
genres, authors, book lengths, etc. This translates to trying out different
positions, partners, durations, etc. when speaking of sex. Ah, to be young
again.
As you age, though, your reading
preferences get more set. You know what you’re looking for when you go to a
library or a bookstore to find the next great read. If you’re single when you’re
older, as I am, you also know what you’re looking for in a bedroom partner even
if you can’t quite explain it to others. Like finding that perfect book while
browsing the shelves, you’ll know when you spot that perfect mate the moment
you see him – there is just that aha moment that speaks to your soul (or to a
spot further south), and you know that if you take home that book/man, you will
have a pleasurable evening.
Both activities are best enjoyed in
a bed at night, but both are also best enjoyed when you’re not overly tired.
You can’t enjoy a good story when you’re falling asleep in the middle of it,
and you certainly can’t enjoy a good roll in the hay when you’re snoozing
either.
If the book or the partner is right,
though, whichever activity you’re reveling in at the moment should be quite the
stimulating one. In fact, a suspenseful mystery or a frightening thriller can
get your heart racing almost as fast as a toe-curling lovemaking session can,
providing you’re doing it right at least. Since the best sex has love at its
base or eventually leads to love, those heady romances are on par with the
sweet tenderness that comes with the most satisfying sex, and when the sex you’re
having is with that special partner of many years, then the true classics of
literature are what you equate with long-lasting fidelity.
Some nights you can read for hours
just as there are nights where you can have sex for hours. Those are magical
nights, and you seldom forget the book you were reading or the person you were
doing when you have those moments. Other nights, the magic escapes you, and you’re
only good for a paragraph or two or five minutes of fast groping before the
Sandman takes you away.
Believe me, I could get very dirty
in my comparing of reading to sex, but I think you get the picture. Reading is
my passion, but sex brings me passion, so whether I’m alone or not, bedtime is
a good time at my house.
(The above was written in fun for my monthly writers' group where our topic was "Comparisons." They all loved it so much that I decided to share it here on my blog because this is where I like to share things I've written that are both deep and meaningful as well as playful and naughty. Let's face it, sex and reading are all of those things. Hope you're smiling. :) )
